Fleas

Here in the Inland Empire, we are very lucky when it comes to fleas.  While they are endemic (meaning that they are ever present... at a low level), they are not commonly seen within our client base.  In places like Seattle, dog/cat fleas are a common pest that find there way onto the most pampered pooch or sedentary house cat.  The reason for this is our climate.  Fleas don't like hot dry summers or freezing cold winters.

However, that does not mean that we are immune.  Here at the clinic we have seen a rash of flea cases in the past few weeks.  Why?  Probably a combination of sheer (bad) luck and the cool wet weather.  Normally we see the highest caseload of flea infestation during early spring.  The early spike tapers off, and we don't see much through the summer and fall.

Dogs and cats acquire fleas from the environment.  Fleas can be found anywhere animals congregate.  This can be the dog park, public park, your back yard, or even your house.  So even if your dog only goes outside to go to the bathroom, your dog can acquire fleas brought there by some other animal (think feral cat or neighbor's dog).  Once on your pet, the fleas begin setting up in your house.  If you see a flea on your pet, you can assume there are hundreds or even thousands of flea eggs and larva in your carpets and pet bedding.

So what do we do about fleas?  The best way to deal with fleas is to prevent them from infesting our pets.  This means monthly topical flea prevention.  We recommend quality flea control topicals such as Vectra or Frontline.  There are hundreds of different topicals flooding the market, so I cannot speak on each one.  However, they are not all created equally... which is why we stick with what we know.

If your pet (and your house) already has an infestation, it has to be treated aggressively.  Half measures will lead to a continuing infestation and greater long term expense.  The most important aspect of treating an established infestation is; You must treat all animals in the household at the same time.  If you dog-sit your cousin's dog once a month, he must also be treated.  Even though you see fleas on your dog but never your cat, you must treat your cat.  An untreated animal will act as a reservoir that will continue the infestation.

While treating your animals, it is also a great idea to clean the environment.  Wash all bedding, vacuum carpets, etc.  Pet stores will sell bottles of Frontline area spray, which are a good idea to utilize on carpeted areas.

Most people want to know how long they have to treat to get rid of fleas.  I usually recommend no less than three months.  However it is probably best to just keep them on a monthly flea preventative indefinitely.  The reason is that your pet acquired the fleas from some reservoir... there is nothing to prevent re-infestation once you discontinue flea prevention.

My dogs came down with a case of fleas a couple years ago.  I suspect they picked them up at the public park across the street.  As such, they are on flea prevention for the rest of their lives.  It's just part of the cost of having a healthy pet.

Extra Credit:  Fleas are an interesting parasite that have had a profound impact on human history.  There are many different species of fleas.  Each one is relatively host-specific but most are also opportunistic.  Fleas that commonly infest dogs and cats are Ctenocephalides canis and Ctenocephalides felis.  These fleas will prefer to bite your pet, but will occasionally bite you if the opportunity presents itself.    Humans have their own flea (Pulex irritans) which has a fairly wide host range.

The most important flea in human history is Xenopsylla cheopis, the oriental rat flea.  This flea is a vector for the bacteria Yersinia pestis, or the Bubonic Plague.  Bubonic plague is thought to have wiped out almost a third of the human population during the middle ages.  When a rat flea would bite an infected rat, then bite a person, the plague would be transmitted to the person through the flea's mouth parts.  Luckily, our pets' fleas are not generally considered a vector for plague.  Modern sanitation has significantly lowered the rat population and plague is treatable with common classes of antibiotics.